| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 55 min |
| Prep: | 20 min |
| Cook: | 35 min |
| Yield: | 4 sandwiches |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon minced peeled ginger
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 serrano chile pepper, seeded and minced
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Small handful (about 1/4 cup) raisins
- Small handful (about 1/4 cup) shelled pistachios
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 large white onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 serrano chile pepper (don’t chop it unless you like things spicy!)
- Kosher salt
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- 1/4 cup half-and-half
- Small handful fresh cilantro (soft stems included)
- 4 sesame buns
Instructions
- Make the sauce: Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic and chile pepper and cook until the ginger and garlic brown a little, about 1 minute. Add the garam masala and paprika and cook 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce and 1 cup water, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sloppy joes: Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the raisins and pistachios and cook, stirring occasionally, until the raisins swell up and the pistachios toast slightly, about 1 minute. Remove from the skillet and set aside.
- Return the skillet to medium heat and add the remaining 1 to 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the cumin seeds and let sizzle about 10 seconds, then add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chile pepper and cook 2 more minutes, seasoning with salt. Add the turkey, breaking up the big lumps, and cook until opaque, about 5 minutes.
- Add the prepared sauce to the turkey-and-onion mixture in the skillet. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.
- Remove the whole chile pepper (unless you want to eat it, like my dad does!) and stir in the honey, half-and-half, raisins and pistachios. Taste for seasoning. Stir in the cilantro right before serving.
- Toast the buns and fill with the sloppy joe mixture. Eat with your hands!
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 10 servings |
| Calories | 225 |
| Total Fat | 13 g |
| Saturated Fat | 2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 15 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 2 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 12 g |
| Cholesterol | 34 mg |
| Sodium | 351 mg |
Reviews
Good flavor! We diced a half serrano and added it to the onion mixture. Perfect level of heat… we like heat. Also, liked the unexpected crunch of the pistachios and the sweet of the raisins. Great balance of flavors. Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.
I’ve prepared this recipe for family and friends many times over the years. This is one of our all time favorite casual meals and we prefer ground beef rather than ground turkey.
We have made this recipe twice, just a written. It is fun to revisit a childhood staple, but with zingier flavors. Love it!
This is a family favorite. My kids like it better than regular sloppy joes. I cut down on the serrano a bit. Delicious combination!
I’ve made this a couple of times and my husband and I really enjoy it. It has great flavors and yes, it’s not your typical sloppy Joe, but it wasn’t meant to be. In fact, I enjoy it more.
My family loved this recipe! It has unique flavors…a very non-traditional sloppy joe recipe, but very delicious! It was easy to make too! The only things I did differently are substitute 1/4 cup of equal parts tofu and soymilk blended together for the half-and-half because I have a dairy allergy, and totally omit both the pistachios due to an allergy and the serrano chile pepper because my family is not big on spicy foods. It worked wonderfully! I will definitely be making this again!
Loved the recipe but I skipped the raisins and the chilli chopped since my kids can’t tolerate it yet. I felt it was too runny so I boiled it for another 10 mins at the end and it was perfect.
this recipe is easy, i had most of the ingredients on hand and it was delicious! even my picky 4 year old loved it. the only thing i would think about changing would be to use coconut milk instead of half and half next time, (and there will be a next time and i will be doubling the recipe! thanks!!!
Whoa — not a keeper. It’s just a jumble of odd flavors that are definitely not sloppy joes. Great aroma, but final product, following recipe exactly, is not something I will repeat.
SOOO TASTY! tried this because I was in a food rut and wanted something a little different… this did the trick! I’m not the savviest cook, but I made this for me and my fiance and it blew his socks off. It was easy, not too prep intensive, a great weeknight meal. I will be trying more of Aarti’s recipes soon, they are the perfect way to shake things up without stressing yourself out on a weeknight.